


The Dragon's Quest

by LadyBugs90



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Everything Is Better With Dragons, F/F, F/M, Freezerburn - Freeform, Ladybug - Freeform, Seriously everything, There Be Dragons Here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2018-10-29 05:24:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10847334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyBugs90/pseuds/LadyBugs90
Summary: What started out as a relatively normal day for the dragon Rubolynnhaerisha Roshahgash quickly turned into something much, much more when a dastardly plot to reveal dragons' ability to take human form was unearthed. Will she prevail in keeping the secret hidden, or will dragonkind have to live with a new status quo?





	1. An Unexpected Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired to write this after finishing reading Dongyrn's "Ember Legacy" fanfic. Expect shoutouts to both him, Tolkien and fantasy genre tropes in general.

In a cave in the mountains of northern Vale there lived a dragon. Not a nasty, dirty, wet cave, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy cave with nothing in it to lie down on or to eat: it was a dragon-cave, and that meant a certain sense of _flair_. Granted, the young dragon didn’t yet have much riches to her name, but at least she had enough to fill a smaller chamber deeper into her den. She had lived on her own for the past 50 years of her life, but if she lifted her head to the wind blowing outside the main entrance of her home, she could still smell the familiar scent of her birth cave where her father still lived 2 kilometres to the south, which was enough for her. As she lay basking in the morning sun outside her cave, she suddenly heard the sound of gently flapping wings on the breeze. When she looked towards the direction of the noise, she saw a shimmering, orange-gold dragon flying towards her perch.

“Blessings and good tidings be upon you this fine morning, sister dearest” the newcomer said while bowing her front legs deeply and splaying her wings along the ground.

“Yang, please stop.” The resting younger sister sighed as she rolled her eyes at her older sister’s antics.

“Indulge me here, Rubolynnhaerisha…” the older dragon looked up from her curtsy at her younger sister pleadingly. 

“Ugh, _fine_ …” the younger dragon rose to her feet with an annoyed noise. “Blessings and good tidings upon you as well, Yahnghiellewonhayrisha…”

Yang chuckled.

“There. Was that so hard?” 

“ _Yes_. What do you want, Yang?” Ruby glared at her visitor annoyedly. Yang merely sat down and transformed into her human form, never taking her eyes off her younger sister.

“Well, I was bored and thought I’d visit Vale town for a bit, so I flew by to see if you’d like to join me? You might even run into that black-haired elven friend of yours again. What’s-her-name, Blake?” Yang playfully nudged her sister’s scaly shoulder with a knowing smirk. Ruby just glowered at her very annoying sister as she lay. 

“You’re planning on walking then, since you switched forms? Would take ages to get to Vale. Pass.” Yang fiddled with a lock of her long, golden hair as she looked herself over.

“I suppose you have a point there.”

“Yeah.” Ruby snorted out a small tuft of smoke.

“Flying it is, then.” With a smile on her lips, Yang walked backwards towards the edge of the cliff and backflipped out of sight, only to reappear in Ruby’s line of sight in her massive dragon form. “I’ll race ya, sis!”

“Wha-? Yang! Wait for me!” Ruby threw herself into the air, desperately flapping her wings to catch up with her sister.

* * *

 

Five minutes later, the two sisters could see the outskirts of Vale in the distance. They discreetly landed out of sight to transform into their human forms, then walked the last 500 metres to the city gates.

“Hey guys, lovely morning for a stroll huh?” Yang dismissively called out to the guards who boredly waved them through the gate.

“So… where do you want to go first?” Yang glanced over her shoulder at Ruby. “Bar? Maybe that new place with the dance floor?” Ruby kicked at the ground.

“Seeing as you’re the one who actually wanted to go, you decide.” Yang paused for a moment, the fingers on her right hand drumming against her thigh as she mulled it over.

“I’m gonna go find bar, maybe I’ll bump into some interesting characters…” Without waiting for a reply, Yang walked off towards the nearest building with a sign above the door reading _The Bear’s Den_. Stepping through the door, the two sisters made their way to two unoccupied stools by the bar desk. Yang gestured to the bartender who introduced himself as Hei Xiong as he handed Yang a list of drinks. Yang sifted through it, with Ruby reading over her shoulder.

“I’ll have the Strawberry Sunrise, please. Ruby?”

“Absolut Kiwi, please.”

“That’ll be 80 Lien. Who’s paying?” Yang reached into her pockets at the bartender’s question.

“10… 15… 20… 30… wow they don’t even circulate _this_ coin anymore, back in the bag with _you_ … 40… 50… and 80 Lien.” Yang handed over the Lien to the bartender, who turned around to make their drinks. A few moments later, they were both happily sipping away at their drinks.

“Ruby? Is that you?” Ruby flinched in surprise at the sudden mention of her name. Turning around, she came face to face with a slender, raven-haired female elf dressed in an immaculate white long coat over a black ensemble with a crisscross pattern of holes over her chest.

“Blake? F-fancy meeting you here…”

“Especially since we agreed to have our next excursion two weeks from now, yes. What brings you into town? Couldn’t wait to raid another dragon hoard? I’ve found a suitable one up north if you really want to go…” Yang discretely elbowed her younger sister in the ribs, making her yelp in pain.

“Uh, I’ll… I’ll have to pass on that one. That particular cave has a very grumpy tenant if I’m guessing the location correctly.” Ruby stuck out her tongue at Yang’s death glare without Blake noticing.

“Oh. Okay then. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for more hoards.” Ruby was about to answer Blake when the door to the tavern swung open and three armoured men stepped through. The one in front, a tall, muscular man with a large, golden bird emblazoned on his cuirass stepped forward as he removed his helmet.

“I, Cardin Winchester, head of Vale townsguard, hereby declare that we are closing off our gates out of town, as there has been reports of two dragons heading in this direction. We urge the populace not to worry, but we encourage you to be careful and report any further sightings.” Ruby and Yang slowly turned to look at each other with horror written on their faces.

 _Crap_.


	2. Secrets of the Dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake, Ruby and Yang sneak out from the locked-down village, and makes a strange acquaintance in a nearby forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, finally finished this long-ass chapter! Enjoy!

“This sucks.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Yang, this whole trip was your idea from the start!” Ruby glared angrily at her sister across the table in the small booth the dragon sisters and their elvish friend had relocated to at the back of the bar. Yang was about to make a retort when the third member of their group returned with fresh beverages.

“This is Telëassarian wine, good for rejuvenating both body and mind. It’s pretty strong, so take care not to drink too deeply all at once.” Blake put the three tankards down at the end of the table before dealing them out. “One for Ruby, one for Yang, and one for me.” She graciously slipped down next to Ruby with her tankard and took a small sip, urging the sisters to do the same. Ruby lifted the vessel to her lips and carelessly sucked in a big gulp.

_Hmm… Tasty! Thick, round flavour with just a hint of honey and blueberry… Wait, what did she say about strength? Maybe it’s stronger for non-dragons to take? Crapbaskets, she’s noticed me!_

Ruby started to wheeze and cough somewhat convincingly as Blake looked over with concern in her eyes, gently slapping her hand against the smaller girls back to alleviate her troubles while Yang contently sipped at her wine across the table, occasionally taking the same deeper gulps as Ruby now that Blake’s attention was focused elsewhere.

“Told you it was strong, Ru-” Blake never finished, as Yang rather forcefully put her tankard down on the table and rose to her feet.

“Yang, where are you going?”

“I gotta get out of this backwater hole, Ruby. I’m getting out of here, one way or another – any means necessary.” Ruby was about to reply when she noticed that Yang’s agitated eyes had taken on a certain… draconic sheen. Getting Yang’s message, Ruby turned to Blake.

“Right. Blake, you know any good, unguarded spots we can use to sneak out from?”

“Well,” Blake tapped her chin in thought. “There’s this spot along the back wall where two houses have this narrow alley in-between them we could use to climb up on top of them and jump over the wall from there, but it’d take some acrobatic skill…”

“Great! Lead the way. Come along, Ruby.” Yang didn’t wait for her two companions to reply, as she made her way towards the exit of the bar. As she was about to step out on the street, she bumped into a young, armoured man with his face concealed under a dark moss-green cloak.

“Watch it, dude! Sheesh.”

“Sure thing, Yang. Likewise to you.” the cloaked figure nodded near imperceptibly as he turned back to his tankard.

Continuing out on the street, Blake took the lead further back from the main gates, soon directing her two companions to two two-story buildings snug against the wooden city walls. Between the houses there was indeed a gap, about one and a half metres from one wall to the other. Blake stepped up to the leftmost house, exhaling and inhaling slowly in concentration. The next thing Ruby and Yang knew, she had jumped up with her left leg against the house, only to once again bounce off towards the other house, quickly jumping back and forth scaling the two walls upwards until she could grab hold of the edge of the roof.

“Yang, lift up Ruby as far as you can so I can try and pull her up.” Yang got down on one knee facing Blake’s rooftop perch.

“You heard the lady, Rubes. Get on my shoulders.” Ruby gingerly supported herself against the wall as she stepped up on her older sister’s shoulders, as Yang supported her with firmly placed hands behind her calves. Pushing free from the wall as Yang rose back up on her feet, Ruby stretched her arms skyward to grab hold of Blake’s outstretched hands. After Ruby had been lifted from her shoulders, Yang began to look for a way to get herself up on the roof as well.

“Guys… Maybe leaving me for last was a bad strategy? I’m not near as acrobatic as you, Blake.” The elf peered down at Yang from the roof.

“Yang, don’t take this the wrong way, but… how much do you weigh?”

“Not that much, why?”

“Hold on, coming down to you.” Before either sister had a chance to interject, Blake had somersaulted off the roof and performed a perfect three-point landing in front of Yang. She gently bent her knees and cupped her hands in front of Yang with her back to the wall.

“Step on up.” Yang did as instructed and put one boot in Blake’s hand, supporting herself by the elf’s shoulders. When she had a firm grasp of the edge of the roof, Blake straightened out and gave her more reach.

“Ooph! ‘Not that much’, goblinshit.”

“Quit complaining, this was your idea.” Yang retorted with a chuckle.

“I’m letting go of you now, I’ll be right up to help you from there.”

* * *

 

After having gotten clear of the village, the three companions began to set up a small campsite in a nearby forest. Yang was struggling with the campfire while Blake and Ruby were propped up against a tree, idly chatting about future hoards to visit.

“First of all Blake, I may love dungeon crawling as much as the next girl, but the Mistralian Mountains are on another continent entirely. Secondly, if I’m guessing the cave correctly - and I use the term ‘cave’ loosely because it’s actually an old dwarven settlement - it’d be very unwise to go into the den of the single crankiest old lizard you’ll ever meet.” Blake fidgeted with a straw of grass as she contemplated the words.

“Okay, just saying that this ’Cinder’ dragon has amassed some serious amounts of glimmer in her hoard.”

“Trust me, we’re better off if we stay well clear of that old worm.”

“You’d do good to heed her words, Blake Belladonna of the Emerald Forest elves. As a dragon herself, Rubolynnhaerisha Roshahgash would know not to pick a fight with her Elders.” The three girls spun around in surprise at the unknown voice. A cloaked figure stepped into view in the improvised campsite. His unseen eyes fixed Ruby’s concerned gaze.

“Yes, I know you and Yahnghiellewonhayrisha are dragons. I am terribly sorry for having to drop the knowledge like this-” the mysterious figure turned his head towards Blake. “- But I’m afraid we don’t have the luxury of maintaining the charade.” Blake just stared at the newcomer, then at Ruby and Yang, then back at the stranger.

“Surely there’s been a mistake of identity. Do these two girls look like dragons to you, perhaps?” The stranger merely shrugged.

“It’s a well-hidden secret that dragons can take human form.” The stranger’s attention shifted to Yang as she hesitantly waved her hand in the air.

“Yeah, uh… I think I recognise you from the village bar – and in retrospect the fact you knew my name should’ve been a tipoff, can’t believe I only picked up on that just now – but if what you’re saying is really true and we do need to be quick about things, I have a solution that’ll both prove us being dragons to Blake, and _give me vengeance upon this lousy firewood who simply won’t ignite!_ ” Yang kicked at the unlit pile of wood as she glared at it in furious anger. The stranger chuckled.

“Very well.”

Ruby tugged at Blake’s sleeve away from the fireplace.

“We should probably step back a bit, Yang can get a bit… _excessive_ … when she gets agitated.”

“Why? What’s she going to do?” Ruby chuckled a bit at Blake’s clueless expression.

“You’ll see soon.” Suddenly Yang started to make noises as if she was loudly clearing her throat. She moved her tongue around in her mouth before speaking with a voice that sounded as she had two or three litres of fluid in her cheeks.

“Yeah, tha’ sh’l d’ ‘t…” Taking aim at the firewood, she reared her head backwards before thrusting forward with a coughed word on her lips.

“ _Dha’ahk!_ ”

With a mighty explosion of light and heat, a stream of fire shot out from Yang’s mouth and ignited her targets with a crackling sound. Blake put a hand over her mouth in shock.

“Ah-heh. Guess the secret’s out then.” Ruby chuckled nervously beside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll throw in the occasional dragontongue word here and there, see if you can guess the meaning from context. 
> 
> Our first word is "Dha'ak", meaning "fire". From there we can derive "Dha'aka", meaning "ablaze, on fire" and "Dha'akam" - "Dragon/Dragons" (literally "burning ones").


	3. Of Oaths, Mistakes and Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio sets one final camp before moving on to their unknown objective, led by the mysterious man in the cloak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it's a bit late.
> 
> I'm gonna try pacing myself better from now on, in light of the rushed plot in the second chapter.
> 
> I swear on my wings.

“So… Dragon, huh.”

“Heh, yeah… sorry about keeping it secret.”

Blake glanced over at her diminutive friend.

“I’m sure there were reasons. It’s a bit frustrating though, you keeping secrets. We’re supposed to be business partners, you know?”

Ruby dug her heel into the ground by the campfire where she sat next to Blake. At the opposite side, Yang stared into the blaze with unfocused eyes and a vacant expression. Their fourth companion, the man in the hood, stood at the edge of their improvised campsite, glaring out into the darkness of the surrounding forest. Ruby winced a bit at the harshness in her friend’s words.

“It’s a well-guarded secret of us dragons, being able to take human form like this,” Ruby began to explain. “If it got out to the general public that anyone they met on the street could be a dragon in hiding, there’d be mass panic.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I don’t, no. But this has been the law to us dragons for millennia and I’m just a hatchling, so I can’t possibly claim to know everything.”

“… How old are you really, anyways? I doubt you’re actually 15, now that I know what you really are.”

“Actually it’s more like 150-ish. Heh.”

“So I’m still older than you, then. I’m 170.”

“As old as me? Neat.” Yang chimed in before going back to poke about in the campfire with a twig. Ruby sighed and rose to her feet. Crouching down before Blake, she put one hand on Blake’s hands while hoisting the other in the air.

“If this’ll make you feel better…” She paused as she could feel Yang’s gaze burning into the back of her head while Blake looked at her curiously. Swallowing, Ruby continued.

“ _Zhu’oh vhahet nehau dhai tha’ralam_ , I, Rubolynnhaerisha Roshahgash, will never lie to you again.”

“What?” Blake blinked in confusion. Yang merely buried her face in her hands and groaned in exasperation.

“Little Dum-Dum here just swore on her wings for you.”

“And that’s…”

“… A pretty _big deal_ in our culture? _Yeah_. She basically said her butt is yours if she ever lies to you again.”

“Oh. Well…“ Blake leaned in to Ruby, cupping her friend’s chin in her hand while grinning coyly. “… I’ll be holding you to that then.”

Ruby blushed.

“Get some rest. We move out in three hours, first sign of darkness.” Everybody jumped at the cloaked stranger’s words, having momentarily forgotten the fourth member of their group in his silence.

“Jeez man, you scared me half to death!” Yang exclaimed. “I see your point though. Night Rubes, Blake.” And with that, Yang merely tipped over by her makeshift backrest log and almost immediately fell asleep. Ruby followed suit in short order.

“’Night Blake.”

“Goodnight Ruby.”

* * *

 

_Ruby walked along the green meadows._

_Suddenly she could see smoke trailing from the village, and as she started running towards it she saw people approaching._

_“What happened?! Can I help with anything?!”_

_“We don’t need help from YOU! You’ve done plenty enough, demon!” an old man spoke up in the crowd._

_“What? Demon? What are you talking about?”_

_“Spare us the excuses! We know what you really are, DRAGON!” another man yelled, brandishing a pitchfork._

_“What?! Sir, you’re mistaken! I’m not a dragon! I’m a human, like yo-…” Ruby had instinctively put up her hands to ward off the mob, but she was suddenly made aware that her hands were no longer human. She gazed in horror upon her long fingers, covered in bright red scales and ending in sharp, curved talons. The mob split apart as a lone figure walked up towards Ruby._

_“You lied to me, Ruby. I am very disappointed in you.” Ruby opened her mouth to scream as she felt Blake’s spear impact her sternum…_

* * *

 

Ruby jolted awake with a yelp.

“Finally awake huh? Dust yourself off and come with me, Yang and your elven friend are waiting for us.” Ruby tried to reply, but the hooded stranger threw a cloth in her face before she could open her mouth. As she finished cleaning herself, she noticed the stranger hadn’t even waited around for her, he had just started walking.

Catching up to him just as he was a few metres away from the others she put a hand on his bicep, stopping him in his tracks.

“You know, it’s getting kind of hard to relate to you without a name…”

“Call me ‘Strider’, then. It’s as good a name as any.” He broke free from Ruby’s grip and walked up to Blake and Yang.

“Blake, was it? We’d better back up a bit, give these girls some room to do their thing.” Grabbing Blake by the shoulder and pulling her away, he gestured to ruby and Yang. No sooner had his request registered in their minds than they started to shift and shudder. Yang started to grow exponentially, sprouting large golden wings before falling over on all fours besides her younger sister, whose corset and skirt was already making way for glittering maroon and silver scales.

Strider glanced over at Blake whose jaw hung open in awe at the scene before her.

“Eh, you get used to seeing it after a while. I’ll be riding with Yang, you ride with Ruby.”

Blake was about to climb up on the wing Ruby had helpfully extended as a landing board when Yang blocked the way with her head.

“Actually,” she rumbled with a voice that reverberated in Blake’s body, “… I’ll take Blake. I don’t trust Dum-Dum keeping her promise, and I’ll be an Orc’s plaything before I let you guys toy with fate like this.”

“You just don’t want me to control her, don’t you.” Blake chuckled. “Fine. Give me a wing up?” Yang gracefully swung down a wing, and Blake swiftly positioned herself at Yang’s shoulders in front of her wings.

“Wow, that’s elves for you. Ready, Blake?” Without waiting for an answer, Yang pushed up from the ground and launched herself into the skies with a triumphant cheer, soon followed by Ruby and Strider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since *technically* there's only one new draconian word due to the rest being modivied dovahzul from Skyrim;
> 
> Tha’ralam - Wings. To swear upon your wings is a very serious occurence, as your wings are what allows you to take flight. If someone has sworn on their wings to you and they break their oath, their wings are forfeit. In the past, if one broke an oath on their wings, they would be maimed or removed.


	4. Making Camp and New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our quartet takes rest on a small island in the middle of nowhere, gaining two travelling companions in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not exactly sure I upheld my promise from last chapter, plot still seems to rush by... ;_;

Yang felt the last warmth of the sunset on her face as she followed in Ruby’s wake over the ocean, her wings beating even, strong strokes that kept her soaring high above the massive expanse of water far below. She was woken from her thoughts by her passenger stirring in her seating, legs straddling the base of Yang’s long, slender neck.

“Hey Yang, can I ask you something?” Blake asked, half-shouting over the oceanic winds.

“No, I don’t know where we’re headed and no, I don’t know when we’ll get there.”

“Not that, but thanks for the honesty!” Blake laughed back.

“Oh. Well then, sure. Any question in particular?”

“… Well… As you probably already know, Ruby hired me to join her in collecting loot from various dragon hoards, but… what exactly is the _purpose_ of these hoards?”

Yang chuckled, sending deep, thrumming reverberation up through Blake’s thighs.

“Well, you know how some birds collect shiny objects and other trinkets in their nest to attract potential mates?” Yang shot a quick glance over her shoulder at Blake, who nodded in the affirmative. “It’s similar to that, but unlike birds, both male and female dragon alike collect treasures in our caves.”

“… That sounds rather counter-productive. If everyone’s perched on their hoards waiting, nobody’ll show up to inspect your hoard.”

“Oh, some of us are actually a bit more proactive in our search so we leave our ‘perch’ as you so _delightfully_ called it and venture out visiting other dragons.”

“… Wouldn’t that leave the hoard unprotected?” Blake asked, tilting her head quizzically.

“You didn’t find it at all strange you and Ruby occasionally found an unguarded hoard?”

“That’s true. Guess it adds up then.” Blake mused.

“Speaking of unguarded hoards… Not that I don’t support Ruby in the search for that perfect someone, but I’m not about to fund her adventures.”

“How would you fund her adv- _oh_.” Blake paused when the realisation hit her. “ _You’re_ the ‘grumpy tenant’ up north.”

“ _Yeah_. You never stopped to think why Ruby wasn’t all that concerned with the supposed imminent danger she constantly got into? She directed you towards her _family members_. She knew she’d get the proverbial slap on the wrist at worst if she got caught, and since you weren’t in on the transformation secret you’d be spared a most grisly fate.” Yang once again glanced backwards, flashing Blake an intimidating, yet playful grin.

“… Protection I no longer have.”

“ _Exactly_. Learning’s so much _fun_ , don’t you think?”

Blake decided then and there that for the time being, silence was golden.

* * *

 

“… Are we there yet?”

“Rubolynnhaerisha, if it wasn’t funny the first time, why would it be the next _16 times?_ ” Strider pinched the bridge of his nose in mock annoyance.

“Hey, just asking. Me an’ Yang gotta rest up soon too, you know. Can’t stay in the air indefinitely.”

“Agreed. Well, we should come upon our first stop on our journey soon. There should be a small island around here somewhere where we’re supposed to link up with a friend of mine for the rest of the journey.”

“… Would it be the one over there in the distance, maybe?” Ruby chuckled.

“Why yes, Rubolynnhaerisha, it sure would seem so!” Strider replied with a laugh.

Ruby swooped down towards the north-eastern side of the small island landing on a beach with Yang following suit.

“If there’s anyone on this island, they probably saw us coming. Be ready for anything.” As Strider moved towards the treeline with Blake in tow, the dragon sisters shifted down into their human forms and followed suit. After trekking through the underbrush for some time, Blake saw something in the distance – the flickering light of a campfire. Readying her bow, she notified Strider, who nodded.

“It’s either my contact or trouble. Get ready.”

Sticking to the shadows, the four travellers crept closer to the edge of the campsite. Sitting between their hiding spot and the dancing flames was a young male elf, his long, black hair pulled together in a low ponytail. As his arm pulled out from under his cloak, the sleeve of his elvish-make shirt glittered green in the flickering light of the fire.

“You can come out now, I know you’re there.” The figure spoke without moving to acknowledge them. Strider just rose to his feet and walked into the circle of light.

“I thought that was you, Ren. It’s good to see you. Where’s your dragon?”

“I sent her to gather more firewood, she should be back any minute now.”

As if on cue the group could hear the snapping of twigs and footsteps approaching from the opposite direction.  Entering the clearing was a young woman clad in a light travelling cloak carrying a sizeable pile of wood that obscured her face from view. Strider turned towards her and spoke up.

“Hello Pyrrholynnhaeryhos, long time no see.”

Pyrrholynnhaeryhos yelped in surprise, dropping the firewood with a loud crash.

“ _Jaune!_ You made it!” the redheaded girl practically jumped into Strider’s arms. Ruby and Yang merely gawked incredulously.

“Your real name is ‘Jaune’?”

“Well, yeah.” Jaune shrugged as he pulled down his cloak, revealing a blonde mop of hair. Suddenly Ruby jerked.

“Oh! Where’s my manners!” She turned to the new dragon acquaintance and bowed deeply, splaying her arms in the best approximation of the draconic greeting she could muster in human form. “Blessings and good tidings upon you, Pyrrholynnhaeryhos. My name is Rubolynnhaerisha Roshahgash and this is my elder sister Yahnghiellewonhayrisha Xhiaholonhagash.” Ruby hastily kicked at her older sister to bow as well when she noticed her still standing. Pyrrholynnhaeryhos merely chuckled before returning the bow.

“Blessings and good tidings upon you as well, Rubolynnhaerisha, Yahnghiellewonhayrisha. You may call me Pyrrha.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now yet another dragon joins our gang, and it's not someone you'd expect! Funny how it ended up being Pyrrha's name revealed at the end, when it was originally supposed to be Strider's big reveal in my original version of the script.


	5. The Long Road Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sisters get to acquaint themselves closer with their new travelling companions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not a great writer. I wish I could've done a better-flowing end for this chapter, but here we are.

Early the next morning, Jaune went around their improvised campsite, gently prodding his sleeping companions awake. When Yang proved extra tough to rouse, he gently withdrew a pouch from his belt, held it down next to her ear and gently jingled the contents within.

Yang snorted out a tuft of smoke from her nostrils and turned onto her side.

Jaune glared down at the sleeping woman from under his hood “All right, if that’s how you want to play it…” He untied the knot on the pouch, picked out a few gold coins and moved them around under Yang’s nose.

Her eyes flung open and slit, draconian pupils darted about. “GOL- _hey_. Not okay, Jaune. _Not okay_.”

Jaune just grinned dismissively. “It worked, didn’t it?”

“He does that from time to time. It’s… _mean_ , but effective.” Pyrrha chimed in from across the camp where she was helping Ren dismantle their improvised sleeping cot.

Hoisting herself to her feet, Yang began to stretch as she walked towards last night’s fireplace, but Jaune put an arm in her way.

“We won’t be needing that anymore. We’re heading out again as soon as possible.” He gave Yang a friendly pat on the shoulder, before turning back to his tasks. “Time to get back in your scales, girl.”

* * *

 

Some time later the three girls stood ready at the beach, their passengers standing off to the side as to give them room for the transformation. Blake looked on as Ruby fell down on all four as she grew ever bigger. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this…” she muttered to herself before Jaune leaned in.

“Eh, I’ve seen Pyrrholynnhaeryhos do this thousands of times. You get used to it.”

Blake slowly turned to stare in disbelief at Jaune’s indifference and was about to retort when she was interrupted by Yang’s bellowing.

“No way! I thought we were about the same age?! How’re you so much _bigger_ than me?!”

Blake had gotten used to Yang being bigger than Ruby in their dragon forms. It was only logical after all, that the older sister would be larger. But from what Blake had overheard from Yang’s and Pyrrha’s conversation the previous night around the campfire, they were about the same age – but Pyrrha’s red-bronze body was a good quarter time bigger than Yang’s golden form, positively _dwarfing_ Yang as they lined up for their riders.

Pyrrha did her best attempt at a shrug her quadrupedal form would allow. “… Mistralian dragons are bigger in general, I guess?”

Yang muttered something to herself in draconian as she extended a wing down for Blake to climb up on.

Minutes later, they were all airborne.

“Hey, Jaune?” Ruby called over her shoulder to her cloaked passenger.

“Yeah, Ruby?”

“Where _are_ we going, exactly?”

“You’ll know soon enough.”

* * *

 

As Pyrrha flew across the sea, occasionally flapping her large wings to keep her speed, Yang flew up beside her.

“So…” she began, “How long have you guys known Jaune anyways?”

Pyrrha tilted her head a bit, peering down at Yang. “Well, I don’t know about Ren, but I’ve known Jaune for quite a few years…”

Ren looked to the skies as he mulled it over for a few moments. “About the same for me. Given the frailty of Man, I’m surprised we haven’t seen him keel over from old age yet.” Ren looked down towards Yang’s massive form and chuckled softly. Ruby flew up beside her sister, Jaune glaring disapprovingly at Ren from his perch on her back. “Very funny, Ren.”

“You _are_ the one with the shortest life expectancy here after all.” Ren shrugged apologetically.

“Right.” Jaune sighed. “We’ll be coming up on the mainland soon, at which point we’ll have to walk some kilometres inland to reach our destination.”

Yang looked over at the small cloaked figure straddling her sister’s neck in confusion. “Why not fly that last distance as well then? It’d be a lot faster.”

Jaune merely chuckled as he replied. “Remember a town by the name of Vale?”

“Yeah sure, but wh-oh. _Oh_. Yeah, walking is probably better. Does the body good, too.”

* * *

 

“’Does the body good’, my foot.” Yang grumbled as she carried her little sister on her back. “I should really learn to watch what I’m saying one of these days.”

“Not my fault my feet hurt.” Ruby cheekily chimed in from her sister’s back.

“Guys… who’s that?” Blake asked as she indicated an approaching figure in the distance.

“How should we know? Probably some random wanderer of no value to us.” Jaune offhandedly remarked. As the redheaded girl approached, the group took note of the absolutely _massive_ warhammer she was carrying. Soon they could hear her singing as well.

_The world was young, the mountains green,_

_No stain yet on the Moon was seen,_

_No words were laid on stream or stone_

_When Odin woke and walked alone._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder who the mystery girl is~


End file.
